The Use of Scleractinian Corals for Heavy Metal Studies

Shah, Sofia

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-73613-2_3

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…Members of the Anthozoa (including sea anemones and corals) are unique tools for ecotoxicological studies since they may live for prolonged periods of hundreds of years, accumulating an ecotoxicological memory, and some, like scleractinian corals, may assimilate environmental records into their skeletons (Shah, 2021). A search of Web of Science identified 3045 papers published in the last decade that contained the key words ‘coral + (ecotoxicology or toxicology or pollution)’.…”

Section: Non‐standard Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A broad‐taxa approach as an important concept in ecotoxicological studies and pollution monitoring

Rosner,

Ballarin,

Barnay‐Verdier

et al. 2023

Biological Reviews

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Aquatic invertebrates play a pivotal role in (eco)toxicological assessments because they offer ethical, cost‐effective and repeatable testing options. Additionally, their significance in the food chain and their ability to represent diverse aquatic ecosystems make them valuable subjects for (eco)toxicological studies. To ensure consistency and comparability across studies, international (eco)toxicology guidelines have been used to establish standardised methods and protocols for data collection, analysis and interpretation. However, the current standardised protocols primarily focus on a limited number of aquatic invertebrate species, mainly from Arthropoda, Mollusca and Annelida. These protocols are suitable for basic toxicity screening, effectively assessing the immediate and severe effects of toxic substances on organisms. For more comprehensive and ecologically relevant assessments, particularly those addressing long‐term effects and ecosystem‐wide impacts, we recommended the use of a broader diversity of species, since the present choice of taxa exacerbates the limited scope of basic ecotoxicological studies.This review provides a comprehensive overview of (eco)toxicological studies, focusing on major aquatic invertebrate taxa and how they are used to assess the impact of chemicals in diverse aquatic environments. The present work supports the use of a broad‐taxa approach in basic environmental assessments, as it better represents the natural populations inhabiting various ecosystems. Advances in omics and other biochemical and computational techniques make the broad‐taxa approach more feasible, enabling mechanistic studies on non‐model organisms. By combining these approaches with in vitro techniques together with the broad‐taxa approach, researchers can gain insights into less‐explored impacts of pollution, such as changes in population diversity, the development of tolerance and transgenerational inheritance of pollution responses, the impact on organism phenotypic plasticity, biological invasion outcomes, social behaviour changes, metabolome changes, regeneration phenomena, disease susceptibility and tissue pathologies. This review also emphasises the need for harmonised data‐reporting standards and minimum annotation checklists to ensure that research results are findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR), maximising the use and reusability of data. The ultimate goal is to encourage integrated and holistic problem‐focused collaboration between diverse scientific disciplines, international standardisation organisations and decision‐making bodies, with a focus on transdisciplinary knowledge co‐production for the One‐Health approach.

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Section: Non‐standard Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A broad‐taxa approach as an important concept in ecotoxicological studies and pollution monitoring

Rosner,

Ballarin,

Barnay‐Verdier

et al. 2023

Biological Reviews

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“…While certain trace metals such as chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) are critical for biological processes in small quantities [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22], their excessive presence leads to toxic effects, including disruption of enzymatic activities and potential carcinogenic outcomes in humans [23][24][25][26]. Conversely, metals like lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) are inherently toxic, even at low concentrations, with cadmium's accumulation in bioindicators warranting close scrutiny [27][28][29][30][31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Trace Metal Contamination in Bivalve, Mytilus galloprovincialis, By Bioconcentration Factor (BCF) in the Moroccan Mediterranean Coast Environment

El Boudammoussi,

El Hammoudani,

Haboubi

et al. 2024

BIO Web Conf.

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This study investigates the pollution of Morocco’s Mediterranean coastal zones by trace metals, highlighting its significance due to detrimental impacts on marine ecosystems and potential health risks through the food chain, exacerbated by the expansion of coastal areas in recent years. It focuses on measuring concentrations of trace metals such as copper, cadmium, lead, and chromium in the bivalve Mytilus galloprovincialis and surrounding seawater across three sites along the northern Moroccan Mediterranean coast. This research aims to evaluate metal bioaccumulation levels using the Biota Concentration Factor (BCF). Seawater samples were examined using both flame and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry, while bivalve tissue samples underwent analysis through Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry. Findings indicate that M. galloprovincialis significantly accumulates trace metals, with concentrations in descending order: Pb, Zn, Cr, Cu, and Cd. Conversely, the seawater metal concentration sequence was Zn, Cu, Cr, Cd, and Pb. The study applied BCF thresholds from Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH) and the US EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), categorizing metals as “bioaccumulative” (BCF between 1000 and 5000) and “very bioaccumulative” (BCF over 5000). This distribution provides insights into the toxicity and bioaccumulation of metals, underscoring the environmental and health implications for the marine ecosystem and species like M. galloprovincialis.

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